Ways to Teach a Dog to Stop Barking

Updated on November 16, 2009

Yap, yap, yap - STOP BARKING - yap, yap, yap

Where
there are dogs, there is barking. Sometimes the barking becomes
disruptive and turns into a nuisance to families and neighbors. Dogs
bark for a variety of reasons, such as if they are bored, see other
animals or people, or hungry. The first thing to take into
consideration when barking becomes excessive, is to learn why your
dog is barking.

A
well-exercised dog is more likely to sleep when you're not around.
Spending time with your dog, engaging in playful activities, and
maintaining a daily exercise routine can help.

Training
activities can stimulate and teach your dog traits that are desirable
instead of allowing bad habits accelerate out of control. Training
activities can include commands, such as teaching them to sit, come,
fetch, heel among many others. Every time your dog responds
correctly to a command reward them with hugs, pets, praise and
treats. But, be careful that the training session does not become
boring and routine.

If
your dog lives in the backyard most of the time, it probably needs
some 'social exercising.' Walking your dog around the neighborhood,
among other people, and let her get used to the sounds and smells she
whiffs in the backyard. Involve her with family activities, and
bring her in the house when you are home.

Keeping
your dog in a place that will create lesser barking interests, close
drapes to eliminate outside interests out of sight, and establishing
a place away from street noises can help until your dog has refined
her barking habits. If your dog is inside when you are not at home,
leave the radio on. If phones and doorbells tend to set off a
barking event, disconnect them before you leave.

Sometimes
when a barking session begins, you can respond with an earthshaking,
super loud, “STOP BARKING!” Most dogs are totally shocked and
don't expect this outburst from you, might be amazed and stop
barking. Things like a water gun can be effective. A surprising
squirt of water to the face can work to stop the barking. And, as
soon as your dog stops the barking rampage, a treat or reward should
be offered.

If
your dog's barking is a constant habit, don't expect the barking to
stop overnight. It can take weeks, even months, of teaching and
reinforcement to break an old habit. The goal is to create a new
habit while getting rid of the undesirable one. Never try to stop
your dog from barking by incorporating fear or violence. Scaring or
hitting your dog will only cause her to be afraid of you, she will
not understand. Pain is never justifiable, or necessary, when
teaching any living creature!

In
addition to personally working with your dog to break her barking
habit, there are collars to assist in your efforts. Basically there
are three types of collars: Electronic, Ultrasonic, and Scent
collars.

Electronic
Collar:
The collar is activated by barking vibrations from the dog's vocal
cords. This type of collar is also called the 'shock' collar. Your
dog will feel an electric shock when she starts barking. Supposedly,
the collar doesn't hurt a dog, and is advertised to be more of an
irritation or annoyance. However, the intensity of the shocks can be
set from mild to high, and personally, I think this could be in the
painful and cruel category. The collar might actually cause the dog
to be fearful of a natural activity, and withdraw from normal
behavior, or become aggressive to the collar and injure itself. You
do not want to stop your dog from barking entirely.

Citronella
Anti-Bark Collar:
Barking also triggers this type of collar. A mist of citronella
scent sprays from the collar in front of the dog's nose. The
citronella scent is not harmful to dogs, and besides not liking the
smell, the hissing sound gets their attention. Studies have shown
citronella barking collars to be twice as effective as other types of
collars.

Ultrasonic
Collar:
This type of collar works by emitting ultrasonic signals that only
dogs can hear. The dog hears a loud buzzing sound when they bark,
Usually, dogs learn, quickly, that barking causes this irritating
noise, and when they don't bark it stops. The sound is harmless, and
can be set on low or high modes. Barking by other dogs does not
trigger the unit.

If
training and collars do not work, debarking surgery can be an
alternative. However, this will not stop your dog from barking, but
it does mute the sound and prevent it from carrying over great
distances. Debarking appears to have no ill effects of a dog's
desire to bark, and doesn't alter their personality in anyway.
However, debarking should not be considered solely as a convenience,
it should be chosen as a last-resort.

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